Summary

On organic farms, infections of gastro-intestinal nematodes (GIN) in grazing cattle, sheep and goats can have a detrimental impact on animal health, and are therefore of substantial economic importance. The aim of our interdisciplinary project is to investigate the basic conditions for the implementation of a control strategy against GIN based on the use of tanniferous plants. The project combines research on plant growth and management, animal nutrition and parasitology. The first results, especially those from Onobrychis viciifolia (sainfoin), presented here are encouraging. O. viciifolia has a consistently high concentration of condensed tannins (CT) throughout the whole growing season. Thus, the optimal time for harvest can be determined in relation to agronomic properties such as fodder quality and yield and does not have to be related to a specific time period with high tannin concentration in the herbage. Despite its high CT content, the animals accepted O. viciifolia very well. Finally, the anti-parasitic properties of fresh CT-containing O. viciifolia were largely preserved in silage and hay leading to a substantial decrease in worm egg excretion in faeces. The present findings are promising for a potential integration of the CT-approach into the complementary control strategies against GIN in sheep.

The paper presented here is the final paper submitted by the authors to the conference Researching Sustainable Systems. The final edited papers are available with the following publication: Köpke, Ulrich; Niggli, Urs; Neuhoff, Daniel; Cornish, Peter; Lockeretz, Willie und Willer, Helga, (Hrsg.) (2005) Researching Sustainable Systems. Proceedings of the First Scientific Conference of the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR), Held in Cooperation with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia (NASAA), 21 – 23 September 2005, Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide, South Australia.. Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, CH-Frick, and International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR), c/o Institute of Organic Agriculture (IOL), DE-University of Bonn. http://orgprints.org/4013/ Distribution: Paper copies may be ordered from FiBL at a cost of 28 Euros plus mailing costs (see FiBL shop at http://www.fibl.org/shop); FiBL order number 1394. A PDF version is available free of charge for ISOFAR members via the member area of www.isofar.org.